Kidney stones and gallstones have plagued mankind for ages. Complications resulting from the presence of stones in the urinary tract or biliary tract often require surgical intervention to remedy the problem. A patient will require several days in the hospital to recover from a typical surgical procedure to remove a stone wherein a surgeon incises a patient's abdomen in order to remove the stone. The use of less invasive stone retrieval devises has decreased the recovery time required by a patient. Stone retrieval devices are known in the art. Prior art devices have relied upon a single sheath and a metal wire basket which is attached to a handle. The device had to be inserted into a patient under direct vision, most often through an endoscope. The device could only be deployed and retrieved for a single use after which it would have to be inserted again under direct vision through an endoscope.
While the stone retrieval devices known in the prior art performed adequately, there is significant room for improvement. The stone retrieval device disclosed below is an improvement over those known in the art.